(Originally posted 12/17/10) Read Dead Redemption ends with an awkward finish that leaves me torn: Protagonist John Marston gets riddled full of holes by U.S. soldiers. On the one hand, it’s a swell way to end the narrative and even makes sense. The game designers utilized all sorts of Western conventions. Why not use one from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid? On the other hand, this game can’t escape the fact that it is a game and not only did you take on a similar number of opponents at various points, but you did so with startling regularity. While the storyteller in me digs it, the video gamer feels cheated. As a result, I honestly don’t know where I stand on this game.
